EDA approves $2,000 for Art Soup

The Elk River Economic Development Authority (EDA) has voted 7-0 to allocate $2,000 to the Art Soup event.
The Elk River Area Arts Alliance had requested the funding for the community arts festival, which will be held Saturday, June 18 in downtown Elk River.
“Like everyone else, Arts Alliance has been hurt by the current economy,” said Wendy Simenson, a member of the Arts Alliance board of directors. She told the EDA members at the Monday, June 13, EDA meeting that anything they could do would be appreciated.
Some EDA members expressed concern about setting a precedent and expressed an interest in the EDA having a donation policy.
As EDA Member Dan Tveite said: “We have to be able to crisply draw a line as to why this but not something else.”
In the end, EDA Member Pat Dwyer made a motion that passed unanimously to donate $2,000 to Art Soup with the understanding the EDA will not consider any other donation requests until it has a donation policy in place.
Council Member Paul Motin, who also is on the EDA, said that could be a policy that the EDA doesn’t make donations.
“Could be,” Dwyer agreed.